TBH - Demo Updates 1.3 to 1.4.2: Stability, Wave Mode, and More

Since Steam Next Fest, I’ve been focusing on polishing the demo based on your feedback - tightening up core systems, improving combat clarity, and breathing more life into the villagers.

These past few updates (v1.3 through v1.4.2) include both gameplay improvements and emotional touches.

⚔️ New Feature: Wave Mode (Experimental)

You can now replay waves or skip parts of the main story to test the core village defense loop. This mode is designed for feedback and tuning; letting you experiment with how villagers, enemies, and upgrades all connect over time.

❤️ Gameplay & Balance Updates

• Villager health is now displayed as a percentage.

• Added notifications for villager states: Wounded, Healthy, and Motivated.

• Improved how roles are assigned - now confirmed only with Left Mouse Button.

• Adjusted villager health scaling on level-up and motivation bonuses.

• Lowered Death Knight and Ghoul damage for fairer early waves.

• Ringing the village bell now heals villagers for testing convenience.

🧠 Bug Fixes & Performance

• Fixed resolution startup bug that caused memory spikes and crashes on some setups.

  • The game now starts at lower settings by default to prevent this.

  • If you still experience this issue, you can right-click the game → Properties → add [c]-dx11 -windowed[/c] to your launch options.

• Fixed issues with nicknaming villagers and pausing during dialogue.

• Adjusted the objective tracker to better recognize surviving villagers (especially Bram the Blacksmith).

• Polished various small input and menu edge cases.

🗣️ Villager Dialogue Updates

The four main villagers - the Mayor, Blacksmith, Granny, and Mayor’s Son - now have new conversations that expand their personalities. They also react to loss: if someone dies, others in the village will notice and comment. These small moments help build the emotional thread between your hero’s past and the people you’re trying to protect.

🔔 Looking Ahead

The focus right now is stability and feedback clarity, but the next updates will start expanding more core systems and testing player/villager upgrades beyond the demo’s current limits. I hear your feedback about a more involved combat system. Your discussions and feedback are ESSENTIAL.

If you’ve already played, thank you! Your feedback and reports have been incredibly helpful. And if you haven’t tried the demo yet, now’s a great time. It’s smoother, clearer, and a little more expressive.

~ Fausto / Stebs Tired of Being the Hero